Nearly a half century ago, a landmark study showed that teachers weren’t explicitly teaching reading comprehension. Once children learned how to read words, no one taught them how to make sense of the sentences and paragraphs. Some kids naturally got it, and some didn’t. Since then, reading researchers have come up with many ideas to foster comprehension. Educators continue to debate how much to emphasize some ideas over others. Although the research on reading comprehension…
When kids feel bombarded by difficult emotions, they may feel a sense of helplessness, as if there is nothing they can do to pull themselves out of the storm. As parents, we know effective strategies are out there to manage emotions, but knowing which ones to use in the moment can feel overwhelming. In his new book, “Shift: Managing Your Emotions – So They Don’t Manage You,” neuroscientist Ethan Kross shares the most current research…
During the height of the pandemic, Christina Scheffel, a high school English teacher in Delaware, was desperate for ways to get students engaged in her presentation. As a solution, she started adding embellishments to her slide presentation, including cactus themed slides with cactus borders, font, and arrows. “Every single cactus emoji that I could find got put somewhere on these slides, and I really did think it was a way to bring some joy into…
Why does an online college degree cost just as much, or even more, than taking classes in person? Among the surprising answers is that colleges and universities are using online higher education to subsidize everything else they do, and some schools are spending significant amounts on marketing and advertising for it. The result is that 83% of online programs in higher education cost students as much as or more than the in-person versions, according to…
Human Rights Campaign’s post-election survey of more than 50,000 youth reveals that on the eve of the Trump Administration, LGBTQ+ youth report a troubling spike in bullying and harassment, and say they are afraid and anxious about what their futures might hold. They also tell us that young people are being targeted based on race, religion, immigration status, and LGBTQ identity, a deeply alarming fallout from the November election. It’s important to acknowledge these fears…
There are many fun activities for families to enjoy in the Boston area over spring break. Check out our list of activities and events happening in the Boston area in April 2025. Have a great spring break! Easter Egg Hunt – East Bridgewater When: Saturday 4/19/25 at 10:30 AM Where: Old Colony YMCA, 635 Plymouth Street, East Bridgewater, MA Age: toddlers, kids Cost: free It’s that time of year again for a fun Egg Hunt!…
Inclusive education is a practice that strives to create learning spaces in which all students are given the opportunity to learn alongside their peers. In special education, this means designing learning experiences and instructional strategies that provide access to content for all children with disabilities. This practice works best when it is tailored to the individual needs of each student. While many students with disabilities receive special education services in special education programs and classes,…
President Donald Trump inherited a U.S. Department of Education with 4,133 employees, according to the administration’s own numbers. Nearly 600 workers have since chosen to leave, by resigning or retiring. And this week, more than 1,300 workers were told they’re losing their jobs in a Tuesday purge. That leaves 2,183 remaining department staff, according to the administration, which means the Department of Education will soon be roughly half the size it was just a few…
Teaching contemporary poetry can feel cumbersome or uncertain. Squinting into its bright light to find meaning—Is that what it could mean? Is that what it does mean?—is an act of curious vulnerability. There is a growing movement to stay with this vulnerability, both with ourselves and with our middle school and high school students. The Teach Living Poets movement invites us and our students to sit in the thrill of new poems in order to…
Adolescence is a time of intense learning and adaptation when we forge our sense of who we are and who we want to be. Throughout this remarkable period of development, we begin to explore the world and create new relationships with our peers and communities. Young people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ) are often tackling these developmental tasks with the added challenges of discrimination and victimization from their communities,…
